Category Archives: Justice Chronicles

Writings about crime and punishment, and more punishment.

Leadership Mini-Series: Joseph, Ethics, and Leading with Conviction – Joseph, Cupbearers, and Ethical Memory

Posted on September 7, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

This series explores the intersections of biblical wisdom (Joseph and the cupbearer), ethical leadership, and modern research on justice-centered leadership. Continue reading →

Posted in Education & Teaching, Justice Chronicles, Parole, Relationships, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Participatory Research: A How‑To Blueprint

Posted on September 2, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

A practical guide to co‑designing, conducting, and deploying participatory research in criminal legal system advocacy—grounded in the 2025 white paper on incorporating lived expertise. Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Research & Lived Expertise, Education & Teaching, Justice Chronicles, Life Sentences, Parole, parole board | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Participatory Research: A How‑To Blueprint

Research as Resistance: Building Knowledge Together in the Fight for Parole Justice

Posted on August 31, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

A personal teaser for our participatory research installment—from early John Jay studies to peer‑reviewed scholarship and today’s lived‑expertise framework. Continue reading →

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The Anatomy of Advocacy, Part 3: Strategy in Action – How They Won the Fight

Posted on August 27, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Inside the research, coalitions, and bipartisan sponsorship that led to Chapter 310 of the Laws of 2008 and discharges from lifetime parole. Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Research & Lived Expertise, Justice Chronicles, Life Sentences, Murder, Parole, parole board, Politics & Public Affairs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Anatomy of Advocacy, Part 3: Strategy in Action – How They Won the Fight

The Anatomy of Advocacy, Part 2: Birth of the Ad Hoc Committee on Lifetime Parole

Posted on August 20, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

How directly impacted New Yorkers formed the Ad Hoc Committee on Lifetime Parole and chose a winning strategy to change the law. Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Research & Lived Expertise, Justice Chronicles, Life Sentences, Murder, Parole, Politics & Public Affairs | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Anatomy of Advocacy, Part 2: Birth of the Ad Hoc Committee on Lifetime Parole

The Anatomy of Advocacy, Part 1: How “Tough on Crime” Politics Reshaped Justice in New York

Posted on August 13, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

How Governor Pataki’s ‘tough on crime’ agenda and Jenna’s Law reshaped parole and sentencing in New York—and set the stage for grassroots reform. Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Research & Lived Expertise, Justice Chronicles, Life Sentences, Parole, parole board, Politics & Public Affairs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Anatomy of Advocacy, Part 1: How “Tough on Crime” Politics Reshaped Justice in New York

The Anatomy of Advocacy: Transforming Criminal “Justice” in New York

Posted on August 11, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Starting July 13, 2025, a Four-Part Series titled “The Anatomy of Advocacy” will explore a criminal legal system advocacy movement led by formerly incarcerated individuals. It highlights New York’s “tough on crime” era, the formation of the Ad Hoc Committee on Lifetime Parole, strategic campaigning, and lessons learned for successful advocacy efforts. Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Research & Lived Expertise, Justice Chronicles, Life Sentences, Murder, Parole, Politics & Public Affairs | Tagged , | Leave a comment

You’re Once, Twice, 34 Times a “Felon”

Posted on June 12, 2024 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Recently, in “The President’s Brief” from The Marshall Project, Carroll Bogert penned an op-ed piece in The Washington Post.  She wrote: Since Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felonies last week, gleeful headlines have sprouted across the media, with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment, Justice Chronicles, Politics & Public Affairs, The New York Post | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Aunt Jemima and Uncle Tom Redux

Posted on May 2, 2023 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In “Many Thousands Gone,” one of James Baldwin’s essays in Notes of a Native Son, Baldwin writes about white America’s favorite aunt and uncle, Jemima and Tom: “There was no one more forbearing than Aunt Jemima, no one stronger or … Continue reading →

Posted in James Baldwin, Justice Chronicles, Politics & Public Affairs | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Pledge of Allegiance, Little White Lies, and All that Jazz!

Posted on March 7, 2023 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

It has been more than 50 years since I was in elementary school in the New York City public school system, yet I remember, word for word, the “Pledge of Allegiance.”  At this time, I thought nothing of it, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Growing Up, Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Patriotism, Politics & Public Affairs, Race, History & American Society, raising black boys, Revolution, Slavery, Streets of Rage, urban decay, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment